Formed in 1969 by Cornelius Cardew, Michael Parsons and Howard Skempton, the Scratch Orchestra remains the most enigmatic and controversial of the experimental musical ensembles of that era. Combining a promiscuous and often irreverent musicality with a deep seriousness of purpose and a radical approach to social organisation, the Scratch Orchestra prefigured global post-modernism while celebrating a peculiarly British sensibility. Exploding with ideas - often contradictory - and drawing equally on established figures of the avant-garde as well as rank amateurs, the Scratch Orchestra’s combination of Fluxus, John Cage, free jazz, performance art, graphic scores, ritual, research projects, serious formal composition, and pop cover versions provided the blueprint for much that has followed. Tonight’s gala event - expect more than a simple concert! - brings together key players from the Orchestra’s heyday, alongside younger performers influenced by the Scratch aesthetic. All proceeds to Resonance FM, whose annual fundraiser runs all this week.